When Chen Ping and Xiang Yu rushed to the public for secret discussion, Xiong Xin, who had been forced into the corner by Xiang Kang with three prefaces, was certainly not idle. With the help of the Chu Palace Doctor Ling who spent a lot of effort to buy the favor, Xiong Xin also secretly summoned Ling Yin Songyi, his biggest supporter in the court, and discussed with him in person how to deal with Xiang Kang's aggressiveness and strive to reverse the situation again.

Song Yi is a smart man. Seeing that Jing Ju, a member of the Chu royal family who had participated in secret discussions, did not show up, he immediately realized that Xiong Xin had lost trust in him, so he advised: "King, you have many helpers, but you have few helpers if you lose your way. Although Doctor Jing Ju did a little too much today, he has not yet publicly turned to the Xiang family. The king should not be too cold to him, otherwise it will only force him to the Xiang family completely, and weaken the strength that you are not enough in your hands."

"Thank you, Lord Ling Yin, for your teachings. I remember." Xiong Xin still pretended to behave. First, he sincerely thanked Song Yi for his teachings, and then explained: "But I have to be careful. Xiang Kang relies on military power in hand, openly despised me, implying that he had deposed Jing Ju's name, and Jing Ju's attitude was ambiguous, obviously it had been shaken. If I were not careful, not only would the throne be difficult to protect, but my life would also be in danger."

"Forget your righteousness when you see profit!" Song Yi sighed, also very dissatisfied with Jing Ju's open covetousness for the throne of the King of Chu. Then Song Yi asked again: "The king secretly summoned the empress, but for Xiang Kang's statement today?"

"Of course it's for this." Xiong Xin smiled bitterly and said with a sad face: "I was careless for a moment and fell into Xiang Kang's trap. I enthroned Xiang Yu, who was uncontrollable, as the former general in public. Xiang Kang took the opportunity to request that the general not be established for the time being. Xiang Yu and his followers took the opportunity to fan the flames and force me to agree. If I make concessions, the Chu army will inevitably fall into the hands of the brothers Xiang Yu and Xiang Kang. But if I don't agree, Xiang Yu and others will definitely be reluctant to give up. They are really advancing and retreating. So there is no way, I can only secretly ask Ling Yin to come here and ask Ling Yin for advice."

"I am also worried about this matter." Song Yi sighed again, and then said: "Great King, I have thought about it and found that we only have two ways to go now, but I don't know how to choose the king."

"We have two paths to go? Please give me advice from Lord Yin." Xiong Xin asked quickly.

"Both roads are dangerous." Song Yi replied: "The first road is that you should give in for the time being, agree to Xiang Kang's request, acquiesce to the brothers Xiang Yu and Xiang Kang to control the Chu army, and then use the estrangement and contradictions between their brothers to try to separate and divide, so that they can form a situation of incompatible water and fire. Then, you should reap profits and slowly regain your power."

After saying that, Song Yi introduced: "This road is relatively safe and can avoid turning against the Xiang family directly, so as not to force them to be in a hurry to become an abandoned person. It is because the results are too slow. No one can guarantee when it will succeed."

Xiong Xin thought about it and asked again: "What about the second way?"

"The second road is even more dangerous." Song Yi said: "It is the king, you make a quick decision. While resolutely rejecting Xiang Kang's request, you forcibly appoint someone you trust as generals, and directly take over the army left by Xiang Liang, and then force Xiang Kang to surrender in the name of righteousness of the monarch and ministers, and then slowly weaken his military power and finally completely take it back."

"This method is very risky, but once it is successful, you can become the veritable lord of Chu." Song Yi explained again: "Also, although Xiang Kang has many troops, if he openly turns against you to war with the king, it will definitely be injustice. The army and civilians of Chu will not support him, and the kings of the five countries outside the pass will definitely not agree to him. In addition, the tyrannical Qin army will definitely take advantage of the situation. Xiang Kang's son is cautious by nature and will not not weigh the consequences. Therefore, although this matter is dangerous, it may not be possible to succeed."

Xiong Xin thought carefully and after a long time, he said, "This danger may be worth a risk, but if I forcefully appointed a general to take charge of the army, the Xiang family will definitely not accept it. Once the trouble starts, there will be hidden dangers of the Xiang family inside and Xiang Kang's jackal army outside, so I am afraid that my life will be over."

"If the king dares to make up this decision, the hidden dangers of the Xiang family will not be solved." Song Yi said in a deep voice: "Now the army left by Xiang Liang is stationed outside the city, but the Xiang family lives in the city. The palace guard is controlled by Chen Ying. If the king is willing, he just needs to secretly summon Chen Ying and persuade him to support us with a high official and generous salary. Then the king can take advantage of the opportunity of the court meeting to take action. While asking Chen Ying to block the palace, he dispatched his army outside the city to the city to take over the city defense, and let the general appointed by you leave the city to take over the army, force the Xiang family to make concessions by force, and then there is hope for success in major events!"

Xiong Xin gritted her teeth and refused to speak. After a long time, Xiong Xin made up her mind and suddenly said, "This is almost worth taking. Instead of being the Zhou emperor who was not worthy of his name and Duke Jing of Jin who was killed by the traitor, it would be better to fight with the Xiang family's rebel ministers and fight to the death!"

Seeing Xiong Xin making up his mind, Song Yi, who had recently formed a lot of hatred with the old Xiang family, did not hesitate and immediately said: "King, that's not too late. In order to avoid the long nights and dreams, I suggest you summon Chen Ying as soon as possible and discuss major events with him."

Xiong Xin nodded and immediately sent a secret envoy out of the palace to Chen Ying's residence in Pengcheng to preach an edict. Before the edict was announced, he personally led his army to escort Chen Ying, who came to Pengcheng, secretly entered the palace, and was preparing to discuss with him in person the secret event of launching a coup.

The reason why Xiong Xin and Song Yi dared to pin their hopes of seizing power in the coup to Chen Ying, the general of the Chu army was of course because Chen Ying's political stance was more inclined to the Chu royal family. He was neither the best friend of the old Xiang family, nor was hesitant to be valued when Xiang Kang and Xiang Liang were in power. He even lived under Feng Zhong, the leader of the mud-legged pavilion for a long time. After the news of Xiang Liang's death reached Xutai, Chen Ying personally led his army to escort Xiong Xin north to Pengcheng to control the overall situation. In fact, it was ironclad evidence that Chen Ying supported the Chu royal family. Therefore, when Xiong Xin looked for excuses to regain military power, he deliberately forgot to organize Chen Ying's army, which was not the main force of the Chu army, and asked Chen Ying to continue to command the army in his headquarters. He would dare to ask Chen Ying to support him in launching a coup.

But unfortunately, Xiong Xin and Song Yi seriously underestimated Chen Ying's intelligence. In terms of governance and peace, Chen Ying may not be as good as many civil officials in the Chu State; in terms of military combat, Chen Ying, who was a minor official, was not even the opponent of famous Chu generals such as Xiang Liang, Xiang Yu and Ying Bu; he was insidious and vicious, and he was sweet-mouthed, Chen Ying also gave Xiang Kang, Liu Laosan and Chen Ping, and these great traitors in the world were not worthy of carrying shoes; but when it comes to Mingzhe's self-protection and changing with the wind...

When Xiong Xin's secret envoy came to Chen Ying's residence, Chen Ying, who was already targeted by Xiong Xin and Xiang Yu's party, was having dinner with his son Chen Lu. When he heard that Xiong Xin's envoy was coming, Chen Lu immediately put down his bowls and chopsticks, tidy up his clothes and was about to go out to greet him. However, Chen Ying's eyes turned and immediately ordered: "Lu'er, go out to tell the envoy of the king, that he said that he was a little sick person for his father and could not go out to greet him. If he didn't believe it, please bring him to my bedroom to see me."

"Father, why is this?" Chen Lu asked in surprise.

"Don't ask too much, you will know the reason in the future." Chen Ying replied casually, and hurriedly got up and lie down in the bedroom. He also ordered the servants to pack up their food, and casually took some herbs to their bedroom to suffer, trying to pretend that they were really sick.

As Chen Ying expected, Xiong Xin's envoy heard that Chen Ying was suddenly sick, so he refused to believe it. He insisted on following Chen Lu to visit Chen Lu in the bedroom. He still saw Chen Ying in bed and was in a state of tormenting herbs with the servants of the Chen family. He was unable to follow him to the palace to pay homage to Xiong Xin. Xiong Xin's envoy said helplessly and went back to submit the work. As a result, as soon as the envoy left, Chen Lu immediately asked Chen Ying in confusion: "Father, the king summoned you to the palace to meet him. Why do you have to pretend to be sick and not see him?"

"Of course it's because the king summoned me to the palace and there would be no good things." Chen Ying sneered: "Today's court meeting, the right general sent someone to submit three letters. He was ready to force the palace. It was almost dark, and the king suddenly summoned me to the palace to discuss matters. It was clearly related to the right general's three letters. If you intervene in at this time, our Chen family might be in trouble. How could you take such a danger as a father?"

After hearing Chen Ying talk about Xiang Kang's content, Chen Lu was inevitably even more shocked and asked: "Father, do you suspect that the king wants to attack the Xiang family's children?"

"I'm not sure, but this possibility cannot be ruled out." Chen Ying replied: "But no matter whether it is, we must not interfere with this matter, otherwise we will not have a chance to withdraw ourselves in the future."

Chen Lu nodded in a slight understanding, but it happened to be a coincidence. At this moment, someone suddenly came to report outside the door, saying that Xiang Yu and Cao Ju were visiting each other. Chen Lu, who already understood his father's position, did not hesitate and immediately stood up and said, "Father, continue to pretend to be sick, and the child will go and send them away."

"Slow down!" Chen Ying took his son and quickly thought about it with a serious expression. After Chen Ying pushed away her bedcloth (quilt) and stood up, saying, "Let's go and welcome them with you for your father."

"Father, didn't you just say you didn't want to get involved?" Chen Lu asked in surprise: "General Right just submitted the three letters that hinted to force the palace this morning. His cousin's former general came to visit again at this time. It was clearly related to General Right's letter. Why do you have to see them in person?"

"Don't ask too much, I'll tell you the reason in the future." Chen Ying ordered: "Also, when you meet the former general and the others, no matter what they say or what they say for your father, don't interrupt. If you have any questions, ask when they leave."

Chen Lu had no choice but to follow his father to welcome Xiang Yu and Cao Ju, and respectfully invited them into the back hall with Chen Ying. Then Xiang Yu and Cao Ju were not polite either. First, they asked Chen Ying to temporarily drive away the unrelated people, and then immediately showed up to Chen Ying, asking Chen Ying and the Xiang family to persuade Xiong Xin to accept Xiang Kang's request, and not to establish the position of general. He also asked Chen Ying to help, and appointed Xiang Liang, who had previously been placed in Chen Ying's army, as the doctor of the Chu Palace, to take over the defense of the Chu Palace.

The requests of Xiang Yu and Cao Ju are of course equivalent to finding a dagger. Chen Lu, who received the true teachings of Chen Ying, was also anxious. He knew that agreeing was equivalent to tying up the Xiang family's pirate ship. If he didn't agree, he would openly be an enemy of the Xiang family. He regretted that he did not insist on persuading Chen Ying to continue to pretend to be sick and was forced to go to a dilemma. However, what surprised Chen Lu was that after careful consideration for a long time, Chen Ying not only agreed to Xiang Yu and Cao Ju's request, but also planned to order Xiang on the spot to take over the doctor's order and transfer the original doctor's order, which had been bought by Xiong Xin back to the army for office.

Seeing Chen Ying so decisive and firm, Xiang Yu and Cao Ju were of course overjoyed. They first promised that they would not treat Chen Ying and his son badly in the future, and then they left happily with the orders written by Chen Ying. As a result, after sending them away, they had just returned to the back hall. Of course, Chen Lu immediately asked Chen Ying with a pale face: "Father, have you really decided to stand on the side of the Xiang family? Are you not afraid that the Xiang family will fail and we will have no place to die?"

"Lu'er, being a father is not on the side of the Xiang family, but on the side of the winner." Chen Ying smiled and said, "You must also remember that if you face such a situation in the future, as long as you see clearly which side will win, you must not hesitate. You have to bet everything on the side of the winner, so that you can win the most."

"Father, do you think the Xiang family will win?" Chen Lu asked in surprise.

"Of course I will win!" Chen Ying smiled and said, "No more, the Xiang family can be invincible with the 40,000 troops under the command of the Right General. In addition, Huaisigen was basically defeated by Xiang Kang, and it has a huge influence in the army and the people. There are many old subordinates. If he turns against the king, the king will definitely have no chance of winning. In this case, why don't we seize the opportunity to make the Xiang family win faster and more thoroughly, and also let us win more with the Xiang family?"

"But if we choose to support the king, the situation will be completely different." Chen Ying explained: "One of the matter, our soldiers are weak, and even if we support the king, the king may not be able to ensure victory. Secondly, even if the king barely wins, there is no possibility of stopping Xiang Kang's counterattack. At the same time, they will offend countless old subordinates of the Xiang family, so they must be wary of their revenge at any time. The situation is so clear, why should we still stand on the side that will be defeated?"

"Xiang Kang has always been known for his loyalty, filial piety and kindness. Can he have the courage to openly meet the king?" Chen Lu asked in a sceptical manner.

"Loyalty, filial and kind?" Chen Ying almost laughed and said, "If Xiang Kang was not the cousin of the general, but was raised by Xiang Liang himself, nearly half of his backbone in the army were Xiang Liang's sons and nephews. Do you think he would be so filial and honestly hand over the Huaisi foundation he laid with his own hands? If he is really loyal to the king, today's three letters will imply abolish the abolition? When meeting the king's swords and weapons, he only lacks an excuse to send troops, but is this rare to defeat him? Not to mention anything else, just relying on the king's depriving the Xiang family of military power and using others to command soldiers, he can raise an army with the banner of killing the treacherous ministers around the king and regain the power of Chu by force!"

After talking nonstop, Chen Ying sighed again and said, "Originally, the king had the chance to win this game. He led his father to escort him north to Pengcheng, and hoped that he could win and follow him to win a big game. But both the father and the king underestimated the intelligence of the Right General. If he remained unmoved and refused to return to Pengcheng, the hope of the king's regaining power was completely lost. At this time, the Xiang family was forced to take action again. If the father did not stand on their side quickly, and when the overall situation was settled, our father and son would really die without a burial place."

…………

Chen Ying's decisive defiance completely shattered Xiong Xin and Song Yi's last hope. The next morning, before the court meeting began, Xiang Yi, who had arrived from the military camp outside the city, took Chen Ying's handwritten order and took over the court guards of the Chu Palace on the spot, and drove the original doctor's order out of the military outside the city to serve. During this period, Chen Ying also openly helped Xiang Yi seize power and suppressed some of the unconvincing Chu Palace guards. As a result, the news reached Xiong Xin, and Xiong Xin was immediately ashamed. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Chen Ying, who had originally secretly supported him, had turned to the Xiang family. If he did not submit, today's court meeting would probably be the last court meeting he presided over as the King of Chu.

The party that made Xiong Xin vomit blood and Xiang Yu was still proud. When the court meeting was about to begin, Liu Laosan, who had been arranged by Xiong Xin to lead his army to Xiao County to prevent Xiang Kang from turning against each other, actually sent his confidant Xiao He to rush back to Pengcheng from Xiao County overnight. At the same time, Xiao He publicly expressed his attitude before entering the palace, saying that he came back to submit a letter for Liu Laosan, and begged Xiong Xin to accept Xiang Kang's request not to establish a general for the time being. Whoever avenges Xiang Liang in the future will be the general! The information is so well-informed and the political sense of smell makes Chen Ping, the spokesperson sent by Xiang Kang to Pengcheng, couldn't help but be amazed.

Xiong Xin was still very decisive. Seeing that Liu Laosan and Chen Ying and other generals turned against each other, he was undoubtedly defeated, he also made a decisive concession. The court meeting had just begun. Before the ministers could submit, Xiong Xin took the initiative to accept the second request made by Xiang Kang yesterday, announcing that there would be no general. Whoever could avenge Xiang Liang in the future would be appointed as general. Then he immediately returned the military power and handed over all other Chu army troops except Xiang Kang's troops, including local garrisons, to Xiang Yu commander. Cao Ju stood up and asked to enthrone Chen Ying as a pillar country and have a fief of five counties. Xiong Xin also agreed with a smile and happily rewarded Chen Ying who betrayed her for the old Xiang family.

Xiong Xin's obedience saved his life. Xiang Yu and Cao Ju had already made up their minds and were ready to immediately abolish Xiong Xin and support Jing Ju as king as long as Xiong Xin was disobedient. However, seeing Xiong Xin was so gentle and well-behaved, Xiang Yu, who had negative political values, and Cao Ju, who was actually not very political, had no excuses. In addition, Old Man Fan, who had firmly advocated supporting the descendants of the Chu royal family as king, tried his best to persuade him that the decree and establishment would hurt the foundation of the country after all, which could easily cause shock to the Chu State, and it might also cause dissatisfaction from the five countries outside the pass. Xiang Yu, Cao Ju and others suppressed their anger and let Xiong Xin go once, allowing Xiong Xin to continue to be a puppet of the Xiang family on the throne.

Song Yi was the most unlucky. Just one day later, Song Yi was impeached by officials arranged by the old Xiang family, saying that he was instigated by his son to bully the people and seize the land of the people. Xiang Yu's party forced Xiong Xin to demote him to the Damo Order of Kuaiji County. He sent him to this era, where the miasma of Quzhou was everywhere to eat braised vegetables.

After forcibly driving Song Yi away, Xiang Yu, who was proud, quickly called Chen Ping, the spokesperson sent by Xiang Kang, and said to Chen Ping casually: "Mr. Chen Ping, don't waste time. Take my letter back and tell me that I am a brother, and say that Pengcheng no longer needs to worry, and ask him to bring the army back quickly, so that we can discuss the major event of how to avenge my uncle."
Chapter completed!